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December 16, 2014

*^*BLOG TOUR & REVIEW*^* The God Organ by Anthony J. Melchiorri

Immortality is within reach.

In 2063, a biotechnological revolution
sweeps the nation. Behind this movement is Chicago-based medical giant LyfeGen.
The company leads the biotech industry with their Sustain, an implantable
artificial organ designed to grant its recipients near-immortality. But many of
those recipients are suddenly dying.

Biomedical scientist Preston Carter
developed the Sustain to improve and save lives. Yet there are others that
would see him fail. Extreme religious groups, radical movements, and competing
corporations would prefer to see LyfeGen collapse rather than allow “the god
organ” to fundamentally alter medicine and the human body. In a race against
time, Carter must learn to trust resourceful journalist Audrey Cook. She may
hold the key to discovering who is sabotaging the Sustain. And with the organ
already implanted in his own body, Carter must uncover the truth before he’s
killed by his invention.

THE GOD ORGAN is a near-future medical
thriller that takes the reader on a suspenseful ride filled with sinister
conspiracies, intriguing biomedical science, and rampant corruption that will
leave readers wondering just how dangerous becoming a god may really be.

So
I read this book over the span of about a week which is quite long for
me in terms of how swift I usually finish a novel and it wasn't due to
any disinterest or slow moving plotlines but rather a desire to absorb
all that was happening in this story.

Melchiorri writes weaves a
very intricate, complex, through provoking suspense thriller that
centers around a very delicate topic. Science vs nature vs ethics vs
religion. He wraps both our hopes and our fears into a tale about the
future in breakthrough medical technology, technology that could cure
almost all illness and grant the bearer a god-like immortality in the
form of what is called a Sustain. Its a medical implant that provides
the patient with all it needs to withstand any genetic prone illness or
terminal disease. At first glance many readers will say this is an
abhorrence, why would anyone think of this but upon further reflection
how would someone turn an opportunity to rid humanity of disease and
death down. How could you deny the idea of saying a loved one with
Cancer, or bringing a child out of a coma. This book brings to the
forefront all those arguments, immortality versus the natural cycle of
life and death.

Melchiorri also envisions what our society could
come to be granted such power. How greed can override humanity and
morals, how self-preservation can diminish compassion and empathy. He
also delves into the increasing divide and gap that could take place
between social classes, how societal structure will slowly leave those
less fortunate facing a sort of slow extinction.

All these
factors and turmoil reside within all the characters that Melchiorri
brings to life in this book. Each character fighting their own ethical,
moral battle and each character crossing paths that piece together this
greater conspiracy and the larger questions of; Is it right? Should we
have the power to sustain life without death? Who should decide who
lives and who dies?

This is a complex thriller that will leave
you thinking long and hard after you have finished it. The writing is
both scientific and mysterious, the line between hero and villain is
obscure and the boundaries between right and wrong are nothing but
vague. A great read for both sci-fi and suspense/thriller fans.

Joel reached out to
the glimmering incandescent light bulb and wrapped his fingers around it. It
didn’t burn him, even when he clenched it tighter and his mind screamed at him
to let go. Instinct was hard to shake. With an unquenchable curiosity, he
squeezed the bulb and let out an embarrassing yelp as the glass shattered.
Shards projected from his open palm as he rotated and examined his hand. Silver
blood streamed between his fingers.

Stepping away from
the holofield, he headed back into the main art gallery. He shook his head in
quiet amusement and rubbed his hand against his black slacks. No blood actually
seeped over his palm and no glass shards were embedded in his hand, but he
couldn’t help trying to get rid of the mess. It was just another strange
exhibit in the modern art museum, an illusion.

But the pain
burning beneath his skull, making his vision swim, was no trick. He fell, his
body going numb and his world going black.

Anthony
J Melchiorri is a writer and biomedical engineer living in Maryland. He spends
most of his time developing cardiovascular devices for tissue engineering to
treat children with congenital heart defects when he isn't writing or reading.